ESPN present the 2017 World Fame 100 List
ESPN World Fame 100 list sees Cristiano Ronaldo claim top spot once again.
The Top 10 athletes in the ESPN World Fame 100 are:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. LeBron James
3. Lionel Messi
4. Roger Federer
5. Phil Mickelson
6. Neymar
7. Usain Bolt
8. Kevin Durant
9. Rafael Nadal
10. Tiger Woods
Ronaldo is also the reigning holder of the Ballon d’Or and captained Portugal to victory in the 2016 UEFA European Championship – the country’s only major trophy. Later this week, ESPNFC’s Sid Lowe takes a look at how, aged 32, Ronaldo is better than ever, and leading Real Madrid to a historic season, thanks to some unexpected advice from his unlikely manager, Zinedine Zidane.
Eight athletes from the UK rank among the ESPN World Fame 100, as do 12 global footballers who play each week in the Premier League. The British athletes in the ESPN World Fame 100 are:
14. Rory McIlroy
22. Gareth Bale
31. Wayne Rooney
32. Andy Murray
73. Justin Rose
77. Raheem Sterling
79. Theo Walcott
84. Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is the lowest-ranked Brit on the ESPN World Fame 100, but his jet-setting lifestyle sees him spending Easter with Kim and Kanye, and welcoming Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Justin Bieber into his pits. Some criticize his globetrotting lifestyle, but as ESPN senior writer Wayne Drehs discovers in a forthcoming feature, Hamilton doesn’t care.
MMA star Conor McGregor ranks at 25th on the list, and is Ireland’s only representative on the ESPN World Fame 100. To mark his entry, an in-depth feature on ESPN.co.uk will profile the fighter, investigating how his prowess in the octagon, loud-mouthed reputation for saying whatever he likes (usually about money), fleet of supercars and eye-catching wardrobe have made him possibly the greatest evangelist for any sport since Muhammad Ali and boxing.
Other global superstars featured in the extensive ESPN World Fame 100 editorial package are tennis legend Roger Federer, the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt, NBA star Kevin Durant, MMA star Connor McGregor, F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, and footballers Paul Pogba, Didier Drogba, Falcao and Chicharito. Additionally, the ESPN World Fame 100 project includes stories from around the world that examine athletes whose fame may be more concentrated in some parts of the world – from Yuvraj Singh in India to Arturo Vidal in Chile – and those whose fame as individual sportsmen and women may surprise – like Jason Day and Eugenie Bouchard.
Footballers dominate the ESPN World Fame 100, taking up 38 of the positions, followed by 13 basketball stars, 11 golfers, 10 tennis players and eight American football players. American athletes represent 35 positions on the list, the next most-represented countries are Brazil, with nine entries, and Germany with seven. In addition, 63 of the athletes compete in team sports, while 37 compete in individual sports (counting motorsports as an individual sport).
Among the 12 Premier League footballers in the ESPN World Fame 100, Manchester United’s outspoken forward Zlatan Ibrahimović was the highest placed at 26, with Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Özil, Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba and Sergio Aguero making the top 50.
The Premier League athletes in the ESPN World Fame 100 are:
26. Zlatan Ibrahimović
29. Alexis Sanchez
30. Mesut Özil
31. Wayne Rooney
40. Paul Pogba
49. Sergio Aguero
53. David Luiz
54. Cesc Fàbregas
77. Raheem Sterling
78. Eden Hazard
79. Theo Walcott
96. Gabriel Jesus
Ronda Rousey replaces Serena Williams as the most famous female athlete in the ESPN World Fame 100, with eight women making the 2017 list compared to five in 2016. Of those eight female athletes, tennis is well represented with four women included, alongside the six men from the sport, while gymnasts Simone Biles and Aly Raisman also feature.
The female athletes in the ESPN World Fame 100 are:
16. Ronda Rousey
19. Serena Williams
23. Maria Sharapova
48. Simone Biles
75. Hope Solo
87. Caroline Wozniacki
93. Eugenie Bouchard
99. Aly Raisman
The ESPN World Fame 100 has been released today on ESPN.com. Content from the global multimedia project produced in Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese. In addition to multiple global feature stories, local editorial teams around the world are also producing features on key athletes of relevance and each of the 100 athletes has a short summary addressing why the athlete is famous, a wild-card category that references his/her fame, a quote from or about the athlete and other key information.
